Tuesdays on the Tube: Empire Brass

The Holidays and Brass. It is one of the busiest times of the year for brass players. Whether performing in a church or playing in professional orchestras, brass musicians will most likely play one, if not, two tunes at least once in this gigging season– The Nutcracker and Sleigh Ride.

Today’s selection is Sleigh Ride performed by a brass quintet that has been around for quite sometime. Listening to one of my favorite holiday recordings, and seeing Andrew Hitz‘ post on the Empire Brass sparked my desire to feature them as well.

I first got a chance to hear the Empire Brass live when I was a kid growing up in Florida. I have always admired their unique blend that is different from other quintets. To me, they were the ideal brass quintet with numerous recordings ranging from Gabrieli to West Side Story. Rolf Smedvig, trumpeter, was one of the founding members and still leads the group today. In this video, members included:

Rolf Smedvig, Trumpet
Jeffrey Curnow, Trumpet (now with the Philadelphia Orchestra)
Martin Hackelman, French Horn (now Associate Professor at UMKC)
Scott Hartman, Trombone (now Professor of Trombone at Yale)
Sam Palafian, Tuba (now Tuba Instructor at University of Miami)

Enjoy!